How is HPV Spread? Watch below doctors from the University of Michigan Health System Drs. Douglas Chepeha and Anthony Opipari discuss how HPV spreads.
You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus. HPV spreads through intimate skin-to-skin contact most commonly during vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected individual.
Anyone sexually active can get HPV, even if you have had sex with only one person. You also can develop symptoms years after you have sex with someone infected. This makes it hard to know when you first became infected.
How to prevent HPV spread and avoid the health problems it can cause?
Get HPV Vaccine. The HPV vaccine is safe and effective. It can protect against diseases (including cancers) caused by HPV when given in the recommended age groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends: “All boys and girls get two doses of the HPV vaccine at ages 11–12. HPV vaccination can be started at age 9. For the HPV vaccine to be most effective, the series should be given before exposure to HPV. HPV vaccine is recommended at ages 11–12 to ensure children are protected long before they are ever exposed to the virus.
Get screened for cervical cancer. Routine screening for women aged 21 to 65 years old can prevent cervical cancer.
Use condoms. Use latex condoms every time you have sex. This can lower your chances of getting HPV. But HPV can infect areas not covered by a condom – so condoms may not fully protect against getting HPV
